ESCONDIDO: Police seek driver in fatal hit-and-run

Police were asking for the public's help to find a hit-and-run driver who fatally struck a 67-year-old man crossing Lincoln Avenue with relatives early Sunday, a police lieutenant said.

Carlos Gomez Pantoja was walking across Lincoln Avenue at Beech Street with two or three relatives about 1:30 a.m. when a white sport utility vehicle or gray pickup with a camper shell struck him and continued west on Lincoln, said Lt. Tom Albergo of the Escondido Police Department.

Pantoja received what appeared to be only a fractured arm, and he was conscious and coherent after the crash. Doctors at Palomar Medical Center treated him, but about 4:30 a.m., the hospital notified police that Pantoja was dead, Albergo said.

The San Diego County medical examiner's office would have to determine Pantoja's cause of death, he said.

The vehicle that struck Pantoja would have damage to its right front side, Albergo said.

It was unclear how fast the vehicle was traveling when it struck Pantoja, Albergo said.

Anyone with information about the crash can call the Escondido Police Department at 760-839-4722.